WHAT’S NEW IN THE FRIENDLY SKIES?
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Charlotte-Douglas International Airport director Jerry Orr rattled off staggering data (most of which he keeps in his head) about the airport's local economic impact at a recent luncheon hosted by the Charlotte Chamber's Southwest Chapter. Jerry noted it recently added flights to Dublin, Madrid, and Sao Paulo; it's logging more than 20 million passengers a year and still manages do to it at a cost to the airlines of about $1 per passenger—the lowest in the US. But his favorite topic, as always, was airport growth: The asphalt is hardly dry on a new, $320M runway, but Charlotte-Douglas already is awaiting FAA approval (and help with the $325M funding) of another runway (presumably so planes taking off on the $320M runway have a place to land). The timetable is uncertain, but it will be the airport?s fifth. Charlotte-Douglas is the 9th largest airport in the US, and one of the few that continue to grow, generating more than $10B in local economic impact. ?The airport is the cornerstone of the city's economic development platform,? Jerry says. |
